Review: Ciroc Honey Melon
Ciroc Honey Melon was just released. Jean-Sebastien Robicquet created Ciroc in 2003 at Maison Villevert Distillery in the south of France. This distillery has been in his family for over 500 years. In 2007 brand owner Diageo partnered with Sean Combs to market Ciroc, with profits shared equally. In 2010 Ciroc introduced Red Berry and Coconut their first two flavored vodka’s. They currently produce twelve flavors, all made from the Original Ciroc vodka base. This base is crafted from a blend of Ugni Blanc and Mauzac Blanc grapes. The juice is made into a wine. It takes 4 bottles of wine to make 1 bottle of Ciroc. The wine is distilled four times in a stainless column still. A fifth distillation follows in a traditional copper pot still. Natural melon, honey and other natural flavors are infused to create Ciroc Honey Melon. Read more 
Review: White Claw Mango Vodka
White Claw, the worlds best selling hard seltzer is now available as a vodka. No not a vodka seltzer, not yet anyway, but a vodka that is available four ways. Unflavored and in three flavor varieties. Mango is said to be the second most popular hard seltzer flavor so it’s no surprise one of White Claws flavored vodka’s is Mango. White Claw Mango Seltzer was introduced to the world in it’s own individual flavor pack when White Claw only had five flavors. The other four were sold together in White Claws first variety pack. Before long White Claw added a second variety pack and Mango was included as one of the four flavors. Mango was also included in White Claw’s third variety pack. Passion Fruit recently replaced Mango in Variety Pack 2. Peach the 13th and newest White Claw flavor is only available in a single flavor six pack. Does this mean a 4th White Claw Variety Pack is on the horizon? Fingers Crossed. White Claw Mango is made from a 100% American Corn vodka base. It is distilled five times and filtered three times through charred coconut shells at a pressure of 6000 pounds per square foot. This is the same power exerted by a 30 foot ocean wave. Natural mango flavor is infused before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: White Claw Pineapple Vodka
White Claw Pineapple Vodka was just released along with White Claw Mango, Black Cherry, and White Claw Premium, unflavored vodka. This is not Mark Anthony Groups first spirit launch. They currently produce BEARFACE Whisky, Glendalough Irish Whiskey, and Irish Gin, and several spirits including a 100% rye vodka at Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers. White Claw vodka is made from 100% American corn distilled 5 times then filtered three times with charred coconut shells. The filtration process is pressurized to 6000 pounds per square foot to simulate the power exerted from a thirty foot wave. Natural pineapple flavor is infused by White Claw Spirits Master Blender and Ambassador Andres Faustinelli. Andres is also the Master Blender of BEARFACE Canadian Whisky. Read more
Review: OYO Stone Fruit Vodka
OYO Stone Fruit Vodka is crafted at Middle West Spirits in Columbus Ohio. Middle West was founded by Brady Konya and Ryan Long in 2008. They released their first spirit, OYO Vodka in 2010. They currently produce Rye, Whiskey, Gin, Bourbon, and several Vodka’s. OYO Stone Fruit Vodka starts with the original OYO Vodka base made from Non GMO soft winter wheat grown in Ohio. It is small batch distilled once on a custom Kothe Still and it is unfiltered. Ripe Montmorency Cherries, Sweet Yellow Peaches, Apricots, Almond Extract, Hibiscus, and Wildflower Honey is infused before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka
Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka is one of over 20 spirits crafted in Nashville Indiana in a state of the art 18,000 square foot distillery surrounded by 325 acres of native forest, they opened in 2017. Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka. It is sourced from the inner bark of several tree species. There are four main types of cinnamon. Hard Truth does not publish details as to which cinnamon type they use in crafting their cinnamon vodka. The vodka base is made from 100% wheat and is distilled on a Vendome Copper & Brass distilling system. It is infused with two natural sources of cinnamon and lightly sweetened with pure cane sugar. Caramel color is added before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Valentine White Blossom Vodka
Valentine White Blossom Vodka is not your typical flavored vodka. The Valentine Distillery starts with the well crafted Valentine Vodka base that is made from a blend of 25% barley 25% red Michigan wheat, and 50% corn. It is small batch distilled in a 225 gallon Christian Carl still with two 35 foot columns housing 42 trays. The spirit is slow filtered for 24 hours in a double false bottom 50 gallon drum through a proprietary activated carbon system made from coconut shells and reduced to proof with water filtered through reverse osmosis. Finally the spirit is aerated to oxidate the vodka. This is where the award winning Valentine vodka is hand bottled. Valentine White Blossom takes this vodka base and infuse elderflower, and grapefruit, and sweetens with natural beet sugar from Michigan grown sugar beets. Read more
Review: Truly Strawberry Lemonade Vodka
Since it’s launch in 2016 Truly Hard Seltzer has enjoyed a meteoric rise in sales. Much of this increase in sales is the result of product innovation. After coming up with dozens of flavor variations of hard seltzer, Boston Beer Works collaborated with Beam Suntory in creating Truly Vodka in three flavors including Pineapple Mango and Wild Berry. Truly Strawberry Lemonade is made with a vodka base made from 100% corn. The vodka is triple distilled. 5% juice, natural flavors and certified colors are added before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Ciroc Passion Vodka
Diageo and Sean Diddy Combs have just released Ciroc Passion vodka. My first thought was this is a passion fruit flavored vodka but since the bottle reads, “an exotic blend of the tropics” it may be a blend of flavors including passion fruit. Several passion fruit flavored vodka’s have been released. Only a couple remain on the market today. We have reviewed passion fruit flavored vodkas made by Smirnoff, 42 Below, Skyy, Opulent and New Amsterdam. Absolut released a Passion Fruit vodka but I have never seen it in the US. Only Smirnoff, New Amsterdam, and Seacrets, a small distillery in Ocean City Maryland currently produce a passion fruit flavored vodka. Like all of the Ciroc flavored vodkas, Passion is made from the original Ciroc vodka base. This base is crafted from a blend of Ugni Blanc and Mauzac Blanc grapes. The juice is made into a wine. It actually takes 4 bottles of wine to make 1 bottle of Ciroc. The wine is distilled four times in a stainless column still. A fifth distillation follows in a traditional custom copper pot still at Maison Villevert Distillery by Master Distiller Jean-Sebastien Robicquet, at his family owned 500 year old distillery in the South of France. Natural flavors are blended before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Black Infusions Dark Cherry Vodka
Black Infusions Dark Cherry Vodka was released February 2022. This follows the launch of Black Infusions Fig and Black Infusions Apricot. It is made from a vodka base made from corn that is distilled 5 times in a copper column still and filtered 5 times through carbon and a final time through lava rock. Pure Cascade Mountain water is blended to reduce to proof. California grown Bing and Rainier dried cherries are infused for 4-6 weeks and the spirit is lightly filtered before hand bottling at 60 proof. It takes about 1 pound of dried cherries, the equivalent of 7 pounds of fresh cherries to produce 1 bottle of Black Infusions Dark Cherry Vodka. Read more
Review: New Amsterdam Passionfruit Vodka
New Amsterdam Passionfruit was just introduced. It is one of twelve flavored vodka’s produced by New Amsterdam Spirits Company in Modesto California. That number should actual read thirteen as they also produce the wildly popular Barstool Sports Branded New Amsterdam Pink Whitney Pink Lemonade Vodka. Each flavor starts with a vodka base made from corn and is distilled five times and filtered three times. New Amsterdam is now the third best selling vodka sold in the US, trailing only Tito’s and Smirnoff in 2021 vodka sales. Read more